Early Mornings, Late Nights
by kzrtk
Summary: A bunch of snippets based on the lives of Koji, Zoe and the rest of the gang as they grow older. Fluffy, romantic fun!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is another new story from me. It's just a bunch of snippets all happening on different days. I'll probably continue with this story for at least a few chapters, but a lot of that depends on popular demand. They're not going to be intense stories, just fluffy, romantic snippets. (P.S: Rika and Athena are just two characters I invented to be the love interests of Takuya and Kouichi, and I hope to reveal more of them as the stories continue)  
**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Digimon.  
**

_May 22, 2004_

Koji felt something tickle his nose and he annoyingly swatted it away as he mumbled in his sleep. He heard giggling and the feeling of something flicking at his nose came back and he swatted again, this time harder, which caused more laughter to occur. Koji then jerked awake, opening his sleepy eyes trying to take in his surroundings.

He saw a blurry figure leaning over him and he squinted up to see familiar green eyes. "Zoe?"

She smiled. "Get him, boys."

Koji felt two large bodies tackle him to the bed and even though he didn't have his glasses on, he could see a blur of brown and black hair and knew exactly whom it was. "Argh! Takuya! Kouichi! What are you doing?!"

"Stop trying to fight us, Minamoto," Takuya said as he pinned his arm down. "We got him, Zoe."

Koji blinked up at Zoe who was now kneeling beside him on his bed and his eyes widened when she straddled his hips. "Zoe, what are you doing?"

She just smiled as she pulled out a red silk scarf from behind her back and then leaned down and pulled it over his eyes. "Zoe…guys, what's going on?" he asked as Zoe tied a secure knot at the back of his head. "It's the middle of the night."

"Midnight to be exact," Kouichi said as he and Takuya pulled Koji out of the bed. "You know what happens at midnight, don't you Koji?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when he remembered. He turned seventeen at midnight. It was his birthday. "So, it's my birthday," he said as he carefully walked through darkness, trusting Kouichi and Takuya to lead the way. "That doesn't explain why you guys are acting so crazy. After all, it is _your_ birthday too, Kouichi"

"It's a surprise, Koji," Zoe's voice said from in front of him.

"And it's a surprise just for _you." _Kouichi added.

Koji heard a door squeak open and then Zoe's hushed whisper, urging them inside.

He didn't know what was going on, but from what he could tell they were in Zoe's room. The beach house they were staying at for the summer was not very big, but she had lucked out and managed to snag a room all to herself and had the pleasure of no roommates. "Okay, undo the scarf," he heard her say and then felt someone tugging at the knot.

The scarf came undone and he squinted at his surrounds. The room was lit with a soft glow, coming from one single lantern and everyone was standing around, looking at him. "Er…what's going on?"

Zoe laughed as she ran up to him. "Happy birthday, Koji," she said as she flung her arms around him.

He returned the hug, but he was still very confused. "Um…thanks."

"We thought we'd have our own little midnight birthday party," Takuya said when Zoe finally let go. "We have candy and drinks."

Koji blinked and looked around at all his smiling friends. "You guys…threw me a birthday party?"

"Just a private one," Rika said. "Your mom is throwing you a bigger one tonight."

Koji couldn't believe it. His friends did this all for him. He finally replaced his confused frown with a smile. "Thanks guys…I've never had a party before."

"We know, that's why we decided to do this for you," Zoe said and then started tugging him over to the circle of pillows on the floor. "Come on, take a seat."

Koji plopped on one of the pillows and Zoe took a seat next to the right of him and Takuya sat on his left. Rika kneeled on a pillow next to Takuya and Kouichi and Athena sat together across from him.

"Here, have a drink, Koji," Takuya said as he handed him a bottle.

He smiled brightly as he took it. "Thanks," he said and twisted off the cap.

"So, how does it feel to be legal?" Kouichi asked as he took a sip of his drink.

He shrugged. "Honestly, it hasn't really hit me yet. It's weird actually." Then a thought suddenly hit him. He wanted to thank his friends properly, especially Zoe. He knew most of it must have been her idea.

He looked around the room as he thought of something to do and grinned at the small vase full of daisies by Zoe's bedside table. Everyone watched as he pulled out three white daisies, spun them in a circle, and brought one over to Zoe, one to Athena, and one to Rika. The girls smiled and blushed as they caught their flowers in the air and Koji enjoyed watching Takuya and Kouichi scowl at him while the girls kissed him on the cheek.

"That was very sweet," Zoe sighed as she pressed her nose to the soft petals.

"Very smooth, Koji," Rika said dreamily.

"And romantic," Athena added with a sigh.

"Yeah, yeah, Minamoto's a regular prince," Takuya said in an annoyed voice and didn't miss the opportunity to glare at Rika. She just smiled and winked at him playfully, causing him to be even more annoyed.

"Let's give Koji his surprise," Kouichi suggested, trying to change the topic.

"Oh, let's!" Rika exclaimed as she dropped the daisy in her lap and clapped her hands together.

"Surprise?" Koji asked with raised brows. "Guys, you didn't have to…"

"You hush," Zoe said as she got up on her feet along with Kouichi. "What kind of party would this be without a surprise?"

Koji watched Zoe and Kouichi open the closet door and rummage inside it. Zoe turned back around and told him to close his eyes and so he did with a smile on his face. "Guys, come on," he laughed after awhile. "Can I open my eyes now?"

"All right," he heard Zoe say. "Open."

Koji opened his eyes and his heart leapt in his throat when he saw his two best friends holding a guitar. Not just any guitar, but a shiny, new electric one. Koji hurried to his feet and rushed over to it, running his hands along it as emotions swirled through him. "You got me a…this is the new model."

"Yep, the Extreme," Kouichi said with a grin. "Just came out last week."

"How did you manage?" he asked as questions kept gushing out of him. "I mean…this is unbelievable guys."

"Well, when Kouichi told us you lost your guitar," Zoe explained to him. "We thought we'd chip in to buy you one."

"You all chipped in?" he asked as he looked over at Takuya.

"Yes, even me, Minamoto," he said with a roll of his eyes. "But just because you now have a better guitar than me, doesn't mean I'm not going to put up a fight. I'm still a better guitar player than you," he teased.

"I hope not," Koji said with a grin and then gazed longingly at his guitar again. "I can't tell you how much this means to me."

Zoe gently placed a hand over his hand that was gripping the handle. "I know it can't replace the guitar your father gave you," she said softly as she looked up worriedly in his eyes.

Koji squeezed her hand. "This guitar means just as much to me, as my old one did, Zoe." He then kissed her cheek and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you." He looked at his friends over her shoulder and smiled. "All of you."

**Hope you liked! This was just a little preview, call it a prologue if you will. If I get positive responses, I'll put up the next snippet in the next few days. And as always, if you like, REVIEW! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Just another fluffy episode. Remember, the chapters aren't related to each other in the sense that they don't tell one story. They're just random episodes in the lives of the characters we love. ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. **

_June 12, 2004_

All was quite. Then, the sound of high pitch shrieking and low male laughter. "It's coming from Athena's room," Rika said as she and Takuya walked to the closed door.

"Kouichi!" they heard Athena yelp through the door. "You'll pay for that one!"

Rika and Takuya gave each other a confused look, then opened the door to see what the commotion was all about. Both their mouths dropped. Kouichi and Athena were both standing on the bed, white feathers fluttering around them like snowflakes while they beat each other up with pillows. Rika giggled while Takuya just stood there dumfounded. "What in the world are you two doing?"

They both stopped and the feathers died down to their feet. "Having a pillow fight," Kouichi said and grabbed an extra one to toss to Rika. "Show Takuya how it works."

"Gladly," she said catching the pillow and then smacking it hard across Takuya's face.

Takuya stumbled backwards stupidly and watched Rika run to the bed giggling with laughter. "Hey!"

Kouichi swatted Rika with his pillow as soon as she got up on the bed and then ducked for cover when she retaliated. "Come on, Takuya!" Kouichi said between his laughter and stumbled on the bed when both females ganged up on him. "I could use some help here."

Takuya finally grinned and ran to join them, grabbing the last pillow on the bed. Rika hit him on the head before he could even defend himself, but he made sure she wouldn't get another easy hit. "Take that!" he yelled and swatted her repeatedly against her side, while Rika just giggled with delight.

"What in the world is going on?" Zoe exclaimed from the doorway, but neither four stopped their fighting as they continued to hit each other with pillows.

"Zoe!" Athena shrieked and then quickly doubled over to protect herself from Kouichi's nasty blow. "I think there's extra ammunition in the closet. Oh! Kouichi, that's playing nasty!"

Kouichi just laughed as he tackled her to the bed that was now covered in white feathers. Zoe joined the fight as well, ganging up on Takuya, then decided to help Athena and swatted Kouichi on the back. Kouichi just reached behind him and easily threw Zoe over his shoulder, causing her to laugh uncontrollably as she collapsed onto the mattress.

"What in the blazes is going on here?"

All five of them stopped at the sound of Koji's voice and Zoe's smile died when she saw him at the door.

"Having a pillow fight," Kouichi said, standing up and brushing feathers off of him.

"Yeah, want to join?" Takuya asked as Rika giggled, picking a feather out of his hair.

Koji scowled. He was in a particularly foul mood after having lost a Kendo match earlier in the day and the laughter unnerved him. Not to mention, he had seen Kouichi throw Zoe over his shoulder and then playfully attack her with a pillow and the sight of it was unsettling. He hated being jealous of his brother. "I've got more important things to do," he muttered turned to leave.

"What's the matter?" Zoe asked forcefully as she stood up on the bed. "Afraid?"

"Afraid?" Koji repeated. "Of what? Pillows attacking me? Oh yeah, I'm terrified."

"No, not pillows," she said with a smirk. "Of fun."

He eyed her warily. "What?"

Kouichi chuckled. "You heard her, Koji. You scared of having a little fun?"

"I'm not scared of anything," he said firmly, and then entered the game.

The five of them shrieked and ducked for cover when the pillows raced towards them. Laughter filled the room again as the kids all deflected the flying pillows. Koji laughed as he ran up to the bed and grabbed a free pillow out of the air, smacking the closest human body. Zoe fought him back and felt her pillow hit him against the side of the face. Rika took her turn on Kouichi as she swatted him with her pillow, but Kouichi laughed as he yanked her pillow away from her and threw her down on the mattress. Athena jumped on Takuya's back and he toppled over Zoe, while Rika and Koji's pillows were clashing as if they were swords in a real battle.

"Zoe, come take this one off my hands," Rika said as she avoided a blow from Koji. "I need to get a certain someone."

Zoe responded by jumping on top of Koji, who wasn't prepared for it and they both fell onto the mattress, laughing uncontrollably. Athena stepped over them and grunted as she smacked Kouichi as hard as she could on top of his head. "Ready to play, Kimura?" she asked challenging him.

"You're going down," he said, attacking her with his weapon. Athena just laughed as she fought right back, swatting him with her pillow any chance she got.

As the war grew on and feathers scattered all around the six friends, no one paid attention to the older man and woman watching them from the doorway. Mr. and Mrs. Kanbara stood there with smiles on their faces.

**If you liked, please review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Another chapter...sorry it's been a while :)**

"I think your flirting is quite lame."

Koji's jaw dropped as Zoe turned on her heel and walked off. "Excuse me?" he said as he caught up with her. "My flirting is not lame."

"Ha!" she laughed as she kept walking. "Any girl who falls for your flirting is foolish."

His brow lifted. "Is that so?"

"That is so," she said firmly and lifted her chin and kept walking towards the back of the train.

"My flirting is lame, huh? Yeah, well…we'll see about that," he mumbled under his breath and went after her.

Zoe felt someone grab her arm and pull her around. She yelped when she fell against someone's hard chest and tilted her head to see Koji's face looming above hers. "Koji, what…"

"Has anyone ever told you," he murmured as he backed her up against the wall. "That your eyes are as blue as the sky?"

Zoe's jaw dropped along with her stomach. "Um…I, uh…." She swallowed her jumbled words and finally just shook her head. "No."

The corner of Koji's mouth shifted as he looked into her wide blue eyes and noticed that they were the color of the sky. He was just saying a line to prove a point, but in reality it was the truth. "I also like the little freckles across your nose," he said as he brushed his finger across them. "They're rather cute."

She swallowed again. "Y-yeah…I guess."

"Your skin's soft too." He cradled the side of her face and was surprised when she closed her eyes. "Very soft," he mumbled as he watched her.

She opened her eyes. "I use a…special cream," she managed to say as her heart flew up to her throat.

He smiled. She really was rather cute when she was nervous. "Zoe?" he said in a low tone as he moved his head closer to her.

Her wide eyes stared. "Yes?"

He grinned. "Still think my flirting is lame?"

Koji watched her eyes turn from dreamy to confused to absolute fury. "Koji!" she yelled and angrily shoved him away. "That wasn't funny!"

Koji chuckled. "Sure it was. I just proved you wrong. Something I can't do very often."

She scowled at him. "The only thing you proved is what a complete idiot you are, Koji Minamoto!"

He smiled. "Well, if it helps…even though I was trying to prove a point…" He bent his head towards hers until his lips hovered next to her ear. "I meant every word."

He winked at her and left a very stunned Zoe standing in the middle of the compartment. "Oh, it helps Koji Minamoto," she said to herself with a smile. "It helps a lot."

**If you liked it, please review :)**


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